Helping communities in San Agustín, Huila

Helping Communities in San Agustín - Education programme
Helping Communities in San Agustín - Classroom
Bird sound recording - helping communities in San Agustín
Birding Course Field Activities

At Avistando Aves Andinas – Andean Birdwatching, commitment to the community is a core value. We’re dedicated to fostering conservation and investing in the next generation of birding guides. Over the past 18 months, our cofounder Nestor Sanabria has been working with the Viracocha Foundation to bring a Conservation and Birdwatching Tourism course to San Agustín, Huila. We’ve been working together to raise local consciousness about birdlife and strengthen the knowledge and skills of local people to advance their careers.

Why San Agustín?

After a mutual connection recommended Nestor to the Viracocha Foundation, he spent several weeks in San Agustín exploring nature reserves and local hotspots to assess the area’s potential for birdwatching tourism.

San Agustin is well known for its UNESCO World Heritage sites. While thousands of tourists visit every year to marvel at its remarkable Megalithic sculptures, the region’s natural beauty has often been overlooked. In the past, the area was heavily deforested to make way for agriculture, causing significant habitat loss for many species. Moreover, the surrounding region was affected by Colombia’s armed conflict which made the natural areas more difficult to access.

Neolithic bird statue San Agustín

Fortunately, several long-term conservation projects are now making a difference, helping to protect and recover local wildlife. San Agustín is geographically important, situated in the Colombian Massif before the Andes split into three ranges. It’s also close to the source of Colombia’s most important river – The Magdalena – which runs alongside the town. 

Although not widely known for birdwatching, San Agustin is bursting with birdlife. Nestor monitored several prospective routes in San Agustín every 2 to 3 days for a few weeks and reported roughly 90-115 species at each location. The steep mountain cliffs and abundant waterways provide habitats for a great variety of bird species. 

While the rare Black-and-chestnut eagle (Spizaetus isidori) can be found by those who brave a steep hike high into the surrounding mountains, several other target species are much easier to spot. Just take a trip to the local coffee farm to spot the Rufous-browed peppershrike (Cyclarhis gujanensis) for example.

While Colombia’s national and local governments are encouraging sustainable tourism to foster economic development and lasting peace, most initiatives in San Agustin have focused on archaeology and coffee production. There’s little experience in San Agustín related to birdwatching tourism, which is still an emerging industry in Colombia. 

With these factors in mind, Avistando Aves Andinas – Andean Birdwatching started this educational initiative. 

San Agustín Landscape
Bird guide class San Agustín

The Conservation and Birdwatching Tourism course

Our Conservation and Birdwatching Tourism course was designed and taught by Nestor — who has many years of birdwatching, guiding, and conservation experience as well as a train-the-trainer qualification from Audobon — along with Andrés Robles a facilitator from the Viracocha Foundation. Resources were provided by Avistando Aves Andinas – Andean Birdwatching and the Viracocha Foundation and the workshops were held in the Viracocha Foundation’s centre for education, permaculture, and agroecology in San Agustín.

There was a lot of interest when the course was first advertised in San Agustín but since resources were limited places were prioritised for those who had some interest or knowledge about conservation and birdwatching tourism — whether through birding, guiding, conservation projects or photography — with the hope that the course would be of more direct practical use.

A cohort of 12 attended seven in-person workshops and regular field activities over four months. Following the positive response and with the inclusion of previous participants and several new additions, seven more workshops were held the following year.

The workshops covered topics including basic ornithology, birdwatching tourism, tour guiding skills, and the use of resources like field guides, ebird and Merlin. For the final workshop Andean Birdwatching cofounder Ivan Aguilera joined to share his expertise in bird recording and recognising bird sounds in a practical and theoretical session. 

The field activities complemented the workshops and provided opportunities to develop practical birdwatching and guiding skills with an emphasis on conservation and non-intrusive methods. The group met weekly early in the morning to monitor routes, explore new areas and practice their skills.

Building local connections was another important part of the experience and several local landowners gave access to the course field trips. The students were able to improve their birdwatching skills and knowledge by having access to the local nature reserves and private areas where the routes were set while the owners received bird species checklists and photographs of the birds present in their areas to help promote their businesses.

Field Activities - San Agustín Birdwatching Course
Study group - San Agustín

Results

Participants described the course as very useful and said they would recommend it to others. In a learner survey, they told us it helped them to improve their knowledge about their local area and motivated them to continue learning. They also enjoyed being part of a group of people working towards conscious and sustainable tourism. 

In the breaks between the workshop periods, the group has remained in contact with virtual tips and tasks and regular field visits to continue learning and improving. Several of the participants are now ready to begin work as birdwatching guides or use their knowledge to support their businesses. 

Field Activities - San Agustín Birding Guide Course
Maloka Classroom - Helping Communities in San Agustín
Two Birders San Agustín
ppt Birding Guide Course San Agustin

Get involved!

We plan to continue helping communities in San Agustín and would like to expand the programme to similar communities across the country. If you or your organisation or community would like to take part or learn more about our courses please get in touch!

Avistando Aves Andinas – Andean Birdwatching and the Ecosystem Conservation Foundation are looking for supporters who can help us expand these types of community programmes. We are accepting donations of equipment, study materials and funds since participants reported in our survey that it was difficult to find these types of resources to help them study and practice birdwatching. Please get in touch if you can help!

If you’re interested in birdwatching in San Agustin and supporting sustainable tourism, take a look at our local birding tours.